Manchester United face competition from La Liga giants for Bayern Munich defender

Reports in Spain claim that Real Madrid may join the race for Matthijs de Ligt.

Manchester United have been working on a deal to sign the Netherlands centre-back this summer, with personal terms understood to have been agreed with the player.

The problem has been reaching an agreement over a fee with Bayern Munich.

United have reportedly made a £29m bid for De Ligt, which was turned down by the Bundesliga giants, with demands of €50m (£42m) to permit a sale.

Football 365 cites Spanish reports with the belief that Real Madrid could attempt a hijack move to lure De Ligt to the Bernabeu.

This could be a way of getting revenge on United after missing out on 18-year-old French defender Leny Yoro, who recently became our second signing in the transfer window.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims United ‘will never agree’ to pay Bayern’s asking price.

The new reports in Spain suggest Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is willing to pay €40m for the Netherlands international. That is slightly more than the Reds have so far offered.

German reporter Christian Falk believes Bayern “have to sell” De Ligt this summer.

In a column for Caught Offside, Falk wrote: “On that front, Manchester United made a new offer of €30m (plus €5m in add-ons) for Matthijs De Ligt. Bayern are looking for over €50m; the idea is €50m plus €10m.

“At the moment, it’s not working, but Bayern Munich have already made the mistake of buying too many players and everybody knows they have to sell, so the prices will be falling. In the end I think Bayern and United will find an agreement. Bayern have to sell and de Ligt knows that he has no future in Munich.”

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